Check this out - Apple never gave us a midi - here it is!!! And a wicked tower...
http://www.psystar.com/open_computer_the_apple_alternative.html
Cheers - may the clone wars finally begin!
Dan
It will be interesting to watch Apple's reaction in the coming days!
Although adding the price of the OS, the clone is only about 50 US$ cheaper than the Mini. With better specs but a bit lacking in the design department, to put it nicely.
Cyril.
I know someone who followed instructions found on the Internet to build a clone that outperforms the high-end Mac Pro. It cost him under $900 for all the parts.
For people who need the best performance from certain applications *cough*Photoshop*cough*, this is an interesting possibility. However, the OS has to be hacked to run without Apple's mainboard, and software updates from Apple will break the OS.
And note:
http://www.psystar.com/can_i_run_updates_on_my_openmac.html
Well, they're real all right. Gizmodo has one and has tested it. Some caveats:
a) no bluetooth yet - but wifi now available as $90 add-on (Apple's add-on -$50!)
b) no software updates via Apple Software updates - but updates appear to work
c) no automated re-install of OS - must return HD for re-formatting - free service, user pays shipping.
d) Apple legal department hasn't made a sound... yet.
The mini tower is not much of a deal. However, for the discerning übergeek, the tower is intriguing. Don't forget these are just standard PC motherboards, so it's also a good platform for those pesky "other" OS's like Ubuntu (#2 OS IMHO), and Winduhs. Here's what I found in comparing an OpenPro and a Mac Pro:
Open Pro:
Memory: 8GB DDR2 RAM (+ $200.00)
Processor: Core2Quad/2.5GHz Q9300 (+ $180.00)
Hard Drive: 1 TB 7200RPM SATA (+ $150.00)
Video Card: GeForce 8800GT 512MB (+ $230.00)
Case: Black
Operating System: OS X 10.5 Leopard (+ $155.00)
Wireless PCI Card: Included (+ $90.00)
Total: $2,004.99US
Mac Pro:
AirPort Extreme card (Wi-Fi)
One 16x SuperDrive
One 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (quad-core)
Apple Mighty Mouse
Apple Keyboard (English) + User's Guide
8GB (4 x 2GB)
1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
Accessory kit
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB (Two dual-link DVI)
Total: $4,399CAN
Note Apple's processors are faster and have a faster bus speed than the Psystar.
I don't recommend these systems for anyone BUT the ubergeek crowd - you DON'T get Apple service, quality, or reliability with these machines.
Apple can't stop the production of these machines, and they WON'T stop you from buying Leopard. Interestingly, Apple seems to have opened this door themselves when they made Darwin open source. It is inevitable that this cloning will continue, as it has in the guise of the osx86 project, and Psystar is just the tip of the iceberg - the first to break through the "glass ceiling". There are many more just waiting in the wings, in fact it seems the key piece of software - the SMBIOS emulator - was "stolen" from another hacker to round out this Psystar machine. A quick survey of osx86 reveals many others are at the same stage as these guys and now will be waiting to see what Apple legal does. Microsoft lost a key Supreme Court decision that seems to say Apple's License terms may be void as far as tying a piece of software to a specific hardware platform. So, will Apple "brick" OS X so that clone machines "break" every time there's a system software update? Who knows - all I know is that this is turning out to be the most interesting tech story I've seen in years!
Dan
Quote from: Dan Millar
Microsoft lost a key Supreme Court decision that seems to say Apple's License terms may be void as far as tying a piece of software to a specific hardware platform.
Microsoft makes an OS only and forced hardware vendors to do things that were not beneficial to competition.
Apple makes an OS and the hardware. The two companies are not comparable. One is a monopolist. The other makes a software/hardware product.
Quote
So, will Apple "brick" OS X so that clone machines "break" every time there's a system software update?
Yes they will. Unless at some point in the future they decide to stop making software or hardware.
Sorry, I'm not saying Psystar could sustain a legal challenge, and I can't quote the specific decision they have referred to, just that Psystar thinks they have a case based on that and other precedents. The proof is in the pudding, as they say.
QuoteOne is a monopolist. The other makes a software/hardware product.
Do you mean Apple and Microsoft or Microsoft and Apple? Funny thing - you can't tell which one is which anymore! i.e., If Apple had a significant market share, their OS X EULAs and SLAs would be deemed monopolistic - and that's not even debatable. On the other hand, Microsoft sells more software/hardware (mice, keyboards, Zunes, Xbox, TV2, etc.) now than they ever did - just not computers.
Dan
QuoteDo you mean Apple and Microsoft or Microsoft and Apple? Funny thing - you can't tell which one is which anymore! i.e., If Apple had a significant market share, their OS X EULAs and SLAs would be deemed monopolistic - and that's not even debatable.
If Apple
had a monopoly in anything, they could act monopolistically. (o:
Apple is far, far from having any sort of monopoly in computers. MS Windows, with over 700 million installations, is the de facto standard and therefore the de facto monopoly.
Apple may have a monopoly in "portable audio devices". In any case, there are indications that the market for portable audio devices is saturated. The iPod Touch and the iPhone are new products. Competitors may complain that these devices lock them out, but until there is in fact a durable monopoly, these complaints are only a business strategy... A squabble among children bred to share their toys only under duress.
This is not to say that customers should be happy with Apple and their legal documents. Customers vote with their dollars.
Buying a PC on which to run a hacked OS X would be such a vote. Expecting Apple to support the hack would be unreasonable. Votes can be squandered. (o:
Yes, I'd love to be a fly on the wall when Apple gets there first call from someone running Leopard on one of these boxes. Curiously, still not a peep from the mothership!
Dan
Well, I hope Psystar lives another two weeks, because I just finished an article about them for next month's MONiTOR and it won't hit the newsstands till June 1. Apple would have to continue their campaign of silence for another two weeks for my wish to come true. Oh well, even if Psystar disappear, there are others. There's a link below to a video showing OS X running on an OQO, for a most extreme example.
If you're interested in building your own Mac, you can do it too. Check out hackint0sh.org or osx86.org for all the gory details.
Check out this little cutie:
gizmodo.com/385066/oqo-running-os-x-leopard-the-smallest-mac-in-the-world (http://gizmodo.com/385066/oqo-running-os-x-leopard-the-smallest-mac-in-the-world)
http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=2240
Finally - I wonder what took them so long? Like I said, even if they are on firm legal ground, Apple will kill them financially. Now, how is Apple going to deal with these guys - who aren't playing in Apple's backyard...
www.efi-x.com
Hmmmmmm...
Dan
Apple is not just looking to shut them down. They want Psystar to "retrieve" every clone computer that they sold.
Quote from: Dan Millar on July 16, 2008, 11:36:27 AM
Now, how is Apple going to deal with these guys - who aren't playing in Apple's backyard...
www.efi-x.com
A Web site that makes wonderful claims and contains mostly dead links... Not impressive. What more do you know about "these guys"?
Note: Psystars site is back up today???
EFI-X is well into the final stages of completion, they are testing prototypes now, or so they say. I'm in touch with the developer so I'll let you all know if anything actually get produced.
Dan
EFI-X is out of the box... see their website. in the meantime, Psystar continues to do business ...
While Apple is well positioned to move into IT departments, and with a recent survey showing IT personnel choosing Apple as their "second" choice, ahead of Linux and other OS's, those same people said their biggest objection to "switching" was the lack of commodity hardware - i.e. clones.
Perhaps Apple is listening? You can bet they're banking their corporate fires for the future - Apple has conspicuously kept quiet about OS X's serious side - which, believe me, is very serious. Snow Leopard will put Apple's products in the driver's seat. It may seem like a band-aid upgrade, but the finishing touches are being applied to many industrial strength subsystems - like true 64-bit operation, something Windows Vista does very poorly.
Happy Mac'ing!
Dan